Android Central Editors' app picks for Sept. 3, 2010

The Android market is one of my favorite places to spend time while on my Motorola Droid, but cruising the market is not nearly as fun as messing around with some of the great applications that are available. Trying to decide which of the hundreds of thousands of applications are a solid starting point can be a daunting task, but we love to help you out with that. Let's take a look at some great applications that our writers use on their devices.

Ali Fazel - Mangler

Ever want to talk to your MMO buddies while you're out and about? How about leading a raid when you're nowhere near the controls of your level 80 Death Knight? Now you can do all of that on the go with Mangler. Mangler is an open-source Ventrilo client for Linux that has been ported to Android. It works a lot like Vent does on your desktop. You add the server along with your user name information, and then you can connect. There are even some advanced audio settings that you can configure, although of course not even close to what you can set up on your PC or Mac. There are occasional glitches and FCs, but keep in mind that it's not a full release yet, and they don't happen that often anyway. [Market Link | AppBrain]

Kyle Gibb - Congress

It's election time again the U.S. of A. and 2010 is set to be one of the more important mid-term elections in recent years. No matter where on the political spectrum you fall, there are tons of important issues ranging from the economy to the ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Congress allows you to quickly find information for your state's pair of Senators along with your Representative or you can browser all Senators and Representatives. The app can tap into your GPS to leave no doubt which district you reside in and thus which member of the House represents you. From each official's page, you can quickly access contact info, voting records, sponsored bills, news, what committees they sit on, and more. [Market Link | AppBrain]

Jerry Hildenbrand -- Retweet

The native Twitter client is light, fast and integrates with your contacts, but in the features department, it's lacking a bit. Retweet fixes part of that by adding in "old style" retweet functionality to the Twitter for Android app. Often it's better to quote and add to someone's tweet instead of just republishing it, and that's exactly what retweet will let you do! To use, hit the action button on a tweet, choose to share, select the retweet app and you're in business. Retweet is free, and despite warnings that it is for Android 2.1 it works a treat on Froyo as well. [Market Link | AppBrain]

Sean Brunett - Picture Dial

Do you have one or two contacts that you communicate with all the time? Want a faster, more efficient way to contact, preferably directly from the home-screen? Picture Dial does just that. The app allows users to place a widget on their home-screen that can be personalized based on your contacts. There are two different sized widgets, large and small. The large version allows four contacts and takes up 50 percent of the real-estate on a page.The smaller version allows for two contacts. After deciding which version you want, go into the settings and choose which contacts you want to place there. You can then choose whether to direct dial, text or email that contact. You can even set it to ask every-time which action to perform. It’s a handy little app, and one that will save time and energy! [Market Link | AppBrain]

Andrew Melnizek - Dictionary.com

For all of you loquacious (download the app, m'kay?) people out there who just can't get enough words in a day, there is an app for you. The Dictionary.com takes everything you love from the website and squeezes it into one little package. This means all your favorite definitions can be found in one convenient place. The app also allows you to look up synonyms to words using Dictionary.com's sister site: Thesaurus.com. Last but not least, you can place a widget on your Android home screen that will give you Dictionary.com's word of the day. Oh, and don't worry if you can't pronounce some of the words, the app will say it out loud using its creepy male and female voice. (loh-kwey-shuhs) [Market Link | AppBrain]

Phil Nickinson - Hella Umbrella

Imagine a side-scrolling game like Super Mario Brothers, then turn it on its head. Literally. Hella Umbrella -- currently in beta -- is a basic side-scroller in which you maneuver your little gal through a series of levels in search of rain for her parched town. You can create and share your own levels, which is nice, but it's the upside-down gameplay that will really get you. Tilt the screen 90 degrees, and you start to fall, with only your umbrella to slow you. You end up having to play the game upside down (what is right-side up, anyway?) as much as anything, and you really can get quite dizzy if you're not careful. Free beta. [Market Link | AppBrain]

Dallin Hampton - Trivial Droid

Quite honestlyj I’m not one who typically wastes precious space on my phone with pointless games like Pocket God which is on it’s way to Android. But I find Trivial Droid to be quite a bit of fun. It’s got a good well of questions that it draws from with more added each update and a good spread of categories that allow for a fresh experience with every play. Now I’m not saying you’ll never run across the same question twice (which I have on multiple occasions) but with time, this app should grow more and more giving you a little something to tell your friends about every time you come across a little interesting fact that, whether you got the answer right or wrong, you can still share with your friends to seem like a bank of wisdom. The app is free which gives you all the more reason to just try it out and see what you think about it for yourself! [Market Link | AppBrain]

Jared DiPane - SpongeBob Memory Game

Many times I catch myself on the go with little kids around and they see me playing all these fun games on my Droid and they want to join the action. Luckily developers think about this and develop games and applications that will meet these needs. The SpongeBob Memory Game is a great option for this due to its very easy to use, yet practical interface. The children can easily touch the screen to try and reveal the characters and match them. This game is a great option for those who travel with children, or for those who may just have a love for SpongeBob, like myself. [Market Link | AppBrain]